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Hilman
Active Member
Hilman
Active Member
Hilman
Active Member
Moderne
Active Member
Sometimes it's hard to appreciate the scale of our scoreboard until you see it as a backdrop behind chairs.
Man, the thing is massive. I really need to see it in person.
Man, the thing is massive. I really need to see it in person.
Moderne
Active Member
Thanks for the welcome, Dave, much appreciated.
I am a long time lurker of the C2E forum that is currently disillusioned at what it has turned into. Used to be a great place to find information and pictures on buildings, but has unfortunately over the last year or two descended into a large bicker fest between several regular members. Just tired of it.
I am a long time lurker of the C2E forum that is currently disillusioned at what it has turned into. Used to be a great place to find information and pictures on buildings, but has unfortunately over the last year or two descended into a large bicker fest between several regular members. Just tired of it.
Marcanadian
Moderator
Glad to have you @StopDropandLOL
Mildly frustrated at people who still won't give this place a chance. Paraphrasing Twitter:
Person 1: "I love how much activity the Garth Brooks concerts have brought downtown!"
Person 2: "Sure, but walk around there at other times of the day and it's still dead!"
REMINDER: This was a parking lot previously. ANY new activity it has brought is an improvement on what was there before.
ALSO REMINDER: This pre-show activity would not exist downtown without it. It wouldn't even exist if the show were at Northlands because it lacks the dining and entertainment options that downtown has to offer.
ALSO ALSO REMINDER: The area is not finished yet. There is still a large new plaza to be lined with retail, a hotel, office workers relocating, and hundreds of residential units still to come. These will bring more activity to more hours of the day.
It has already made an impact, and that impact will continue to grow as the district nears completion. It's not a failure, it's not that it hasn't met its promise; you're just ignoring the impact it is having for the impact you perceive to be missing, and you're expecting instant gratification instead of waiting for the bigger picture to come together.
Person 1: "I love how much activity the Garth Brooks concerts have brought downtown!"
Person 2: "Sure, but walk around there at other times of the day and it's still dead!"
REMINDER: This was a parking lot previously. ANY new activity it has brought is an improvement on what was there before.
ALSO REMINDER: This pre-show activity would not exist downtown without it. It wouldn't even exist if the show were at Northlands because it lacks the dining and entertainment options that downtown has to offer.
ALSO ALSO REMINDER: The area is not finished yet. There is still a large new plaza to be lined with retail, a hotel, office workers relocating, and hundreds of residential units still to come. These will bring more activity to more hours of the day.
It has already made an impact, and that impact will continue to grow as the district nears completion. It's not a failure, it's not that it hasn't met its promise; you're just ignoring the impact it is having for the impact you perceive to be missing, and you're expecting instant gratification instead of waiting for the bigger picture to come together.
archited
Senior Member
O.K. I think I can vouch for the transition that is about to occur in Edmonton as per @Daveography's points above. The exact same transition happened in Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Convention Center was developed a number of decades ago on freeway-adjacent land that was previously mostly surface parking and derelict older buildings. People came to the area only when there were shows worth visiting (car show, home show, boat show, etc.). The social temperature of the area was similar to Edmonton adjacent to the now-demolished Greyhound Bus Depot. Then, the Staples Centre opened in 1999. Now with a mix of conventions and sports (primarily NHL hockey and NBA basketball) more people came to the area. When the people reached a continuous critical mass, all manner of development broke loose. LA Live now sports a hotel, countless restaurants, pubs, retail and to Dave's point, continuous pedestrian flow at all hours of the day and all days of the week. A tertiary level of development is now underway bringing high-rise apartments and condominiums and hotels to adjacent areas -- the whole of downtown Los Angeles has benefitted.
Banking off of the LA Live experience, Mr. Katz and company are building the whole experience in one mega effort. Unlike the L.A. example, all of the elements will appear nearly simultaneously and the area will be flush with people all day long every day. But it is not going to stop there. Mr. Katz was smart enough to realize that the demand downtown will keep growing and he has maintained a reserve of land pretty much equal in size to what he is currently developing. Besides Mr. Katz' future developments we know of 3 major high-rise condominium projects that are going up within a stone's throw that are also going to benefit the area people-wise (not including those recently completed or currently under construction).
Banking off of the LA Live experience, Mr. Katz and company are building the whole experience in one mega effort. Unlike the L.A. example, all of the elements will appear nearly simultaneously and the area will be flush with people all day long every day. But it is not going to stop there. Mr. Katz was smart enough to realize that the demand downtown will keep growing and he has maintained a reserve of land pretty much equal in size to what he is currently developing. Besides Mr. Katz' future developments we know of 3 major high-rise condominium projects that are going up within a stone's throw that are also going to benefit the area people-wise (not including those recently completed or currently under construction).
RoyGBiv
New Member
Couldn't agree more, years ago I stayed in the Marriott across the street from Staples and did the Kings/Lakers weekend and enjoyed the environment so much that as soon as the Edmonton arena development was announced I inquired about future residential plans for the area (I was assuming conventional condo buildings). Fast forward 5 short years and I am impatiently tracking the progress of construction of The Legends on this terrific Skyrise site until I can move into my unit. As a lifelong Edmontonian I am excited with the potential for the entire area knowing that the majority of the attractions are still under construction.
Hilman
Active Member
I went to the concert on Sunday night, it was unreal! Talking to numerous people, it was amazing how many people were from out of town. Lots from all over Alberta, Saskatchewan and BC, these 9 concerts will be a big shot in the arm for local businesses, a real win-win situation for them and for downtown as a whole.